Golf ball teeing device



Aug. 16, 1938. c. c. BEcKE'r-r GOLF BALL TEEING DEVICE Filed June l0, 1936 llll NIU

Patented ug. 16, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to an improved golf ball teeing device adapted to be buried in the ground at a teeing position.

It is an object of this invention to provide a teelng device adapted to be accommodated in a very shallow and very narrow slot in the ground so that it may be placed in the ground and removed therefrom with the minimum of labor and expense.

m It is also an object of this invention to provide .a teeing device of marked simplicity in the arrangement of parts so that it is economical to make and maintain.

It is a further object of this invention to pro- M5 vide a teeing device with an adjustable tee so that the height of the tee may be adjusted to suit the user of the machine.

It is an important object of this invention to provide means to securely clamp a iiexible tee to a support to make certain of its being held against dislodgment from the support when it is struck by a golf club.

It is also an object ofthis invention to provide an' adjustable tee which includes a housing or support which may be carried by a golfer over a golf course for ready insertion in or removal from the ground.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the specification and the accompanying drawing:

n the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side view of the machine with parts in section and parts in elevation.

Figure 2 is an end view of a. portion of the 35 machine, along the line II-II, and with parts broken, parts in section and parts in elevation.

Figure 3 is a side view of a portion, along the line IlI--IIL with parts broken, parts in section, and parts in elevation.

Figure 4 is a top View of a detail of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a side View of a tee-housing with parts in elevation and parts shown in dotted lines.

'Ihe golf-teeing machine comprises an elon- 45 gated, shallow, and narrow casing indicated generally by the numerals I0. The casing I0 is made up of top and bottom channel members II integrally connected to a vertical channel member I2 at the rear end, and welded or otherwise se- 50 cured to a casting I3, at the forward end which contains the golf ball receiving and delivering mechanism. The sides of the casing are formed of sheet metal plates I4 which are bolted. or otherwise secured to the channel members II,

56 and make a snug ilt about a portion of the cast- CII ing I3 so that the casing is substantially tight against dirt.

The forwardly positioned casting I3 comprises a vertically extending tube I5, open at its upper end and closed at its lower end, a tubular neck or chute i6 and an L-shaped frame Il of channel section, which is provided with sheet iron sides and forms a housing for a gate mechanism referred to hereinafter, and described in Patent 1,952,113 issued no me on March 27, 1934.

A bucket of golf balls I8 may be emptied into a receiver or reservoir I9 to roll down a helical runway formed on what is substantially a stepped dome of progressively decreasing diameter upwardly and into a delivery chute 2I, of 1' the receiver, which is connected by a slip joint to the intake tube IB of the teeing machine. The balls are stopped in their downward travel by a rod 22 which projects upwardly into the tube I6. n

'I'he rod 22 is pivotally connected to one end of an oscillable lever 23 which is pivoted on a standard 24 and is normally urged to the stop position by a spring 25 coiled about another rod 26 which is pivotally connected to the other end of the lever 23. As the rod 25 is being lowered to permit a ball to enter the vertical tube I5, the rod 26 rises to enter the intake tube I 6 to block movement oi the succeeding ball in the intake, and so that only one ball can be delivered n to an elevator movable in tube l5 when the rod "0 25 is lowered.

As is shown in Figure 1, the rear end 21 of the lever 23 projects through a slot into the vertical tube I5 so that when an elevator, indicated generally by the numeral 28, descends within the tube I5 to receive a ball, the end 2l will enter a slot 29 in the elevator and be pushed downwardly by an abutment 30 defined at the upper end of the slot 29.

The elevator 28 comprises a tube 30, vertically 40 slidable in the tube I5 and provided with a narrow slot 3| in which is entered a flat operating lever 32 with a forked end engaging a pin 33 provided Within the tube 30. The lever 32 also projects through a slot 34 provided in a side' 45 of the tube I5 for guided movement therein.

A plug 35 is threaded in the tube 30 and this plug is provided with an annular depression or trough 36 so that water and dust may be guided to holes 31 which open into the trough and ex- 50 tended downwardly through the plug, and so discourage the accumulation of mud about the upper end of the tube I5 where it may get between the plug and the inner face of the tube Wall and cause jamming of the plug in the tube.

The plug 3l is provided with a central recess 38 to receive a rubber tube $9. and the tube is firmly secured*V to the plug Il by a tapered plug I which is entered within the tube and is so arv ranged that when it is drawn down by the turning of a screw Il, turnable therein and threaded in the plug 35, it will squeeze the .wall of the rubber tube between it and the wall of the recessed portion, as is best shown in Figure 3.

The portion o! the rubber tube 3| which extends above the ground is liable to be struck by the club of a golfer'in the use of the tee, and it has been found in the actual use of the machine that the tube-clamping means :lust described holds the tube in place under the severest conditions.

The upper end of the rubber tube l! is suitably shaped, as at 4I, to provide a seat for the soif ball.

The plug ll with the tube Il and its fastening means, may be removed as a unit from the tube 30, and may be inserted in a stationary tee I2, shown in Figure 5, which is provided with a suitable recess 43 into which the plug 35 may be threaded and adjusted in height to suit the golfer,

The stationary tee is a metal body with a pointed lower end so that it may be readily inserted in the ground at a desired point until an annular flange Il rests on the surface of the green.

A plurality ot bodies l2 may be positioned in the ground at desired spaced apart positions on the goli' course, and their plugs 3B will fit any of them and the teeing machine.

As shown in Figure l, the tube I! of the teeing machine is provided with an annular ange 45 upon which there rests a mat of rubber, and the tube or tee 3! projects upwardly through a hole in the mat.

The lever I2 is a at bar provided with a bent portion I1 and a rear arm 4I which extendsnupwardly and is hinged at its end to the frame of the casing I0, as at 4l. A foot pedal rod 50 extends through an aperture in the top channel member Il and through a tubular member Il, welded to the channel member, and is adjustably secured to a clevis 52 which is pivotally connected to the bent portion 41 of the lever 32. The lever 32 is urged upwardly by tension springs 53 connected to the lever and the frame. A dash pot comprises a cylinder 5I pivotally secured at one end to the frame and having a slot I5 in which the lever 3l has guided movement. A plston BB is slidable in the cylinder and is pivotally connected to the lever 32. An adjustable air valve 5l is provided on the cylinder 54 to determine the speed oi the return movement of the lever l! to the teeing position when urged by the tension springs 53.

The distance between the toot pedal I0 and the rubber tee l! is such that the pedal is not in the line of vision of the golfer and does not interfere with his play.

The frame, without the receiver I9, can be placed in a slot in the ground approximately one and a half inches wide, and about seven and a haii.I inches deep, so it lends itself to easy insertion in, or removal from the ground. The receiver I! may be partially buried in the ground, and since the helical runway terminates in the side `chute 2|' as a part of the runway the receiver is out of the line oi' drive.

'I'he dimensions of the frame are not stated by way of limitation, but to emphasize the fact that the combination of elements disclosed makes possible a machine which may be put into an operative position in the ground with the minimum of labor and expense and the minimum of disturbance of the ground. At the end of the golng season it may be readily removed from the ground, and its shape makes it convenient to store out of the way.

The device obviously lends itself to golf practice in the back-yards of homes because of its portability and the ease with which it may be inserted in and removed from the ground.

What is claimed is:-

.A golf ball reservoir for cooperation with a tee and means to deliver balls from the reservoir to the tee in a teeing machine, said reservoir comprising a vertical and substantially cylindrical casing, means in said casing defining a helical runway for balls formed on a support presenting a continuous runway with the convolutions thereof progressively approaching closer to the central vertical axis of the support as the runway ascends, whereby the space between the vertical wall of the casing and the runway increases progressively upwards, and a delivery chute connected to said casing.

CLAY C. BECKETT. 

